With the World getting ready to observe First Aid Day,a call has been put out by the PSG Group in Coimbatore to all motorists to respect and follow Road Safety Norms.

It pointed out that since the beginning of this millennium, the International Federation of Red Cross observes the second Saturday of September as World First Aid Day.

Stating that the modern medical graduate is expected to be familiar with First Aid techniques from the very moment he or she steps into the portals of a medical college, Dr. P.A. Kumar, faculty in-charge of PSGIMSR Simulation and Skills Training Laboratory said that all the students of MBBS program compulsorily go through a training module called Basic Life Support as part of their induction activity. This skill is reinforced again during their internship. In fact, as the Simulation Centre of PSG is affiliated to the American Heart Association, as part of its mandate, Basic Life Support training is provided to all the undergraduate and postgraduate students of medicine. He also said that re-training is being provided whenever any student or intern asks for it.

The fundamental concept of providing care in the Emergency Department is to triage the patients on arrival, said Dr Mani Sundar, Medical Officer in-charge of the Emergency Medicine Department.Basic First Aid includes wound care, pain management, counselling etc., he said. The Emergency Medicine Department provides care to all its patients within 10 minutes of their arrival, he added.

The Principal of PSGIMS&R and PSG Hospitals, Dr.T.M.SubbaRao said that the Institute is planning to offer training on First Aid and Basic Life Support to the general public at subsidised costs as part of Corporate Social Responsibility. This is because, every time, it is not necessary that some medical staff is to be involved in providing first aid. In an emergency, even ordinary people should be able to help and save someone’s life by providing first aid. He reiterated that a First Aid Kit must be available in every house, just as it is available in automobiles. Every year, the contents of the First Aid Kit must be checked to verify the expiry date and update the kit.

Dr. Anuratha , Nursing Superintendent, said that all the Nurses are trained in Basic Life Support as part of their induction training. In addition, nurses posted in Critical Care, Paediatric Intensive Care and Neonatal Intensive Care are additionally trained in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, Paediatric Advanced Life Support and NeonatalAdvanced Life Support, respectively.